Îles Loyauté 100 francs 2015

The Loyalty Islands (in French Îles Loyauté) are an archipelago in the Pacific. They are part of the French territory of New Caledonia, whose mainland is 100 km away. They form the Loyalty Islands Province, one of the three provinces of New Caledonia. It has 17,000 people living on almost 2,000 km2. The native inhabitants are the Kanak people and the Tavu'avua' people.

The first Western contact on record is attributed to the British Captain William Raven from the London trading ship Britannia, who in 1793 was on his way from Norfolk Island to Batavia. It is very likely, however, that the discovery and name goes back to the London ship Loyalty, on a South Sea trading voyage from 1789 till 1790.

The archipelago consists of six inhabited islands: Lifou Island, Maré Island, Tiga Island, Ouvéa Island, Mouli Island, and Faiava Island, as well as several smaller uninhabited islands and islets. Their combined land area is 1,981 km2. The highest elevation is at 138 m above sea-level on Maré Island.